As I find myself home alone for a week or so and less motivated to prepare more elaborate meals, it struck me that perhaps the majority of the people I know, live alone and/or struggle to find no-fuss, nourishing meals that can be easily prepared. Which takes me back to the days when I lived alone and developed a few strategies for maximising time (and budget!) :

Make double batches – To avoid cooking every single night, make a little extra – enough for 2 or 3 meals – and either eat it the following day or take it to work for lunch.

Freeze some ‘lifesavers’ – Make a big soup or stew on Sunday and freeze a few individual portions; make extra hummus and freeze a couple of portions in small jars.

Have a meal on toast – Make some sauces or spreads (like hummus, pesto, baba ganoush..) and keep them in the fridge to eat throughout the week with some bread with your favourite toppings and salad.

Make one pot meals – the kind of dishes you put everything in one pot and ‘voilà’. Time saved with less dishes to clean.

Make green smoothies for dinner – Probably the least popular tip, however, a smoothie can make a quick and nourishing meal. Works best in summer, for me.

This dish is somewhat inspired by Ottolenghi’s ‘Celeriac and lentils with hazelnut and mint’ but it’s become a far stretch from the original recipe. I absolutely adore his recipe but this time around I used what was left in the fridge and the result is so satisfying that I think I’ll start using this recipe as a base and play with different herbs, roots and nuts.

Warm Lentil Salad

Serves 2

½ cup (100g) green lentils, rinsed

1 bay leaf

5 thyme sprigs

1/3 cup (40g) almonds

1 small rutabaga, peeled and cut into small sticks

1 medium carrot, cut into small sticks

2 TBsp chopped mint

2 TBSP chopped basil

Sauce:

1,5 TBsp extra virgin olive oil

1,5 TBsp sesame oil (untoasted, cold pressed)

1 TBsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

In a small saucepan, cook the lentils with bay leaf, thyme and double the volume of water, for about 15 minutes.

In another saucepan, cook the rutabaga and carrot with plenty of water until tender (about 10 minutes).

In the meantime, dry roast the almonds in a frying pan (heat the pan over medium heat, add the almonds and roast them for 4 or 5 minutes, flipping them over a few times) and coarsely chop them.

In a small bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients with the warm lentils, add the rutabaga and carrot and stir everything together with a spoon. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve warm, stirring in the herbs and chopped almonds just before, saving some to garnish the plate if desired. You could also serve it with a green salad on the side, I chose dark leafy greens, radish pickles and avocado.